has been requisitioned by the army. Matthew Flaxton befriends Terry Nichols, an evacuee from London who has no home to return to following the disappearance of his parents. Storylines in this series centre on suspicions of spies being operational in the Carliston area and the boys' interaction with enemy combatants being held as prisoners of war in the locality. The series closes with Flaxton Hall largely being destroyed by a fire accidentally caused by an upper-class-twit character, Gerald Meder, after Jonathan Flaxton has returned from the war and has expressed grave doubts over whether he will be able to maintain the hall in the new political and economic circumstances; this can be seen as an analogy for the destruction of country houses in 20th-century Britain. Nonetheless, the family plan to continue in business, and with Terry's parents having returned, they announce that they will move to Yorkshire and he will stay in the area. Cast Philip Baldwin – Terry Nichols Joanna Marie Jones – Elizabeth Flaxton Andrew Packett – Matthew Flaxton Pamela Duncan – Edith Victor Winding – Benjamin Sweet Murray Melvin – Gerald Meder Derek Benfield – Sgt. Brophy Cyril Luckham – Peter Weekes Jill Summers – Mary Porter Tom Browne – Captain Ewing Episodes Is Your Journey Really Necessary? (25 March 1973) This Little Piggy (1 April 1973) What You Don't Know Might Hurt You (8 April 1973) No Place Like... (15 April 1973) The Bevin Boy (22 April 1973) Welcome Home Tommy Atkins (29 April 1973) It Fell off the Back of a Lorry (6 May 1973) Charity Begins at... (13 May 1973) Things Are Not What They Seem (20 May 1973) Cry Wolf (27 May 1973) A Funny Kind of Day (3 June 1973) Remember, Remember (10 June 1973) Keep the Home Fires Burning (17 June 1973) Additional information Location filming for The Flaxton Boys took place at Ripley Castle, four miles north of Harrogate. The castle owner, Sir Thomas Ingilby, credited the series for a dramatic rise in visitor numbers, turning the establishment from a local into a regional attraction. The theme tune for the series was an excerpt from Sergei Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. Episodes were originally broadcast early on Sunday evenings, at the time the traditional "family" timeslot in the UK for historical drama made for children but with appeal to an adult audience also, such as The Adventures of Black Beauty. Comic strip